as the Atlantic Fleet's sixth A-6E Intruder squadron. The actual establishment ceremony was conducted at NAS Oceana on 17 April 1970. On 18 September 1970, VA-34 embarked aboard as part of Carrier Air Wing One for a short at-sea period prior to its scheduled November deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin in the Western Pacific. However, while en route to the Caribbean for an operational readiness inspection, the ship was ordered to deploy to the Mediterranean after Syria invaded Jordan. The squadron returned home in March 1971 from this unscheduled deployment, only one year old, but already in possession of the Meritorious Unit Commendation. In August 1971, VA-34 received the Battle "E" award as the Atlantic Fleet's top A-6 squadron. In September 1972, a squadron A-6 Intruder conducted crossdeck operations on while operating in the Norwegian Sea. Due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, VA-34 and USS John F. Kennedy departed the Norwegian Sea in October 1973 and re-entered the Mediterranean, conducting surveillance operations south of Crete. 1980s VA-34 deployed aboard , in August 1982 for an eight-week North Atlantic cruise. The squadron subsequently made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean in 1982 and 1984. In September 1985 while deployed aboard USS America to the North Atlantic, the squadron conducted flight operations from the carrier while it operated within the Vestfjorden, a Norwegian fjord. On 24 March 1986, Libyan missiles were fired at U.S. Navy forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra. As a result of this hostile act, the squadron participated in retaliatory strikes Operation Prairie Fire against Libya by the U.S. 6th Fleet forces in the area. VA-34's A-6E Intruders, operating from USS America, attacked and damaged a Libyan FACM Class La Combattante IIa G-class fast attack missile craft with an AGM-84 Harpoon missile marking the first combat employment of Harpoon. On the night of 14 April 1986, the squadron conducted a low-level, high-speed attack against targets at the Benina airfield and military barracks in Benghazi, Libya as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon. In October 1986 the squadron detached from Carrier Air Wing One and joined Carrier Air Wing Seven aboard , deploying in February 1988 for an extended Mediterranean deployment. The squadron participated in operations off the Libyan Coast and returned to NAS Oceana in August 1988. 1990s The squadron's deployment in 1990 featured integration of night vision goggles and Standoff Land